Books bring ambassador to RI

By Prapti Widinugraheni

Ambassador Jorge Palacios Trevino recently presented his letter of credentials to President Soeharto as head of the Mexican embassy in Indonesia. He agreed to an interview with The Jakarta Post to reflect on his views of the state of bilateral relations and on his personal background.

JAKARTA (JP): People say that reading broadens your horizons. But for Mexican Ambassador Jorge Palacios Trevino, reading -- plus some effort, a bit of luck and maybe a speck of fate -- landed him a job in a country he has always wanted come to.

"When I was a young boy, I read stories about Java, Sumatra, Bali, Borobudur, Prambanan, all the exotic things ... I read so much about this country," said Palacios, who arrived in Jakarta two months ago to replace Alberto Campillo.

Palacios joined the Mexican foreign service in 1954 after finishing law school at the National University of Mexico in 1954. His 23 year stint took him to Egypt, and Algeria where he served as ambassador.

Now close to retirement, the 62-year old ambassador happened to hear there was a vacancy at the Mexican embassy in Jakarta.

"I have heard so much about Indonesia, I thought to myself, I have to go there. So I practically pushed them (to appoint me here)," he said.

But Palacios admits it was not only the country's exotic nature which encouraged him to apply for a posting here.

"From the professional point of view, of course, I know Indonesia is an emerging country, a country which is growing faster than many others in the world ... so I say: this is the country where I will have something to do, to work with and where I can watch the things they are doing."

He presented his letter of credentials to President Soeharto on June 18 and has since been making courtesy calls to various cabinet ministers and exploring the fields of cooperation the two countries can merge in.

Palacios says tourism, which is a common source of foreign exchange income for both Mexico and Indonesia, is one field in which the two could exchange experiences and information.

To prove that the two countries did indeed engage in cooperative work despite the fact that they were far apart geographically and had only a few bilateral links at the government level, he pointed out that every month his embassy grants 40 to 50 visas to Indonesians to enter Mexico, mainly for business purposes.

"So there is actually work going on between the two," he said, adding that a number of Mexicans have also been coming here to work as temporary technical consultants to Indonesian companies.

The still insignificant bilateral cooperation between the two countries is perhaps the main reason Palacios feels he has to put more effort into improving relations.

Both countries are involved in various international organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and in "many good causes" such as eradication of human rights violations and apartheid and improvement of so- called North-South relations, he said.

"I think that through multilateral mechanisms (in APEC), we can improve our economic relations and increase investment commitments between the two countries."

Last year trade between the two reached US$300 million. This amount was not big, he admitted. "But at least there is something."

"And this is one of the reasons I am here: to try to see what we can sell to your country," he said, adding that in Mexico City, many Indonesian stores have also started to emerge.

Palacios said another field of cooperation which could be enhanced was joint ventures, which in the long run would enable Indonesian businesses to enter the North America Free Trade Area (NAFTA), grouping Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.

By producing Indonesian-made parts and assembling a certain amount of them with Mexican-made products, the final product -- labeled as Mexican-made -- could easily enter the North American markets, he said.

Although he has only been in the country for two months, Palacios has managed to keep himself busy.

Apart from making courtesy calls and getting acquainted with other ambassadors in Jakarta, Palacios is also preparing an exhibition of Mexican paper craft scheduled for the near future, a celebration for Mexico's national day in September and a week of Mexican movies to be held at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) slated for early next year.

Currently, he is also waiting for his wife and nine-year old daughter to arrive in Jakarta later this month.

His two other sons are grown up and live in Mexico.

Asked what his ambition is, Palacios simply answered it was to succeed in his work during his tenure here.

"I am sure I will succeed because people that I have met are very kind, receptive and easy to work with," he said.

He disclosed that Indonesia will be his last assignment in his diplomatic career before retirement. "Then I will go back to my classes at the university to teach law," he said, adding that he had always enjoyed teaching, a job which he had also been doing during his service at the foreign ministry.

Palacios, who has published various articles and books on international law, said he plans to write more books and review those that need up-dating.

In the meantime, while waiting for his family to arrive, he spends his free time reading, watching movies and concerts, and walking.

"I have to keep young, so all I can do is jalan-jalan," he said, laughing.

Since he has been here for less than a year, it is perhaps understandable that he is still unfamiliar with Bahasa Indonesia.

So far, he admits his Bahasa Indonesia is limited to phrases such as selamat pagi, selamat siang and selamat malam.

"Learning will take some time, but it is necessary so I can get around and relate with government officials and other ambassadors," he said, adding "It is also needed so as to know what is actually happening here."